Reporting of National Standards Data

Over recent weeks the use of National Standards data in league tables has taken a considerable amount of media time.  The Ministry of Education have always stated that they will not create league tables from National Standards data.  Today's announcement by the Minister of Education that National Standards data will be published from September on the Education Counts website, was accompanied by the recommendation that parents use this site to assist them in choosing schools.

I, along with many of my colleagues in the teaching profession, have many concerns about National Standards data being used to compare schools.  Some of the reasons for this include:

Complexity

We are not comparing simple data here such as sports results or sales figures.  This is complex data impacted by many things:

• Home environment;
• Learning needs; 
• Resources available;
• Quality of teaching etc.

      Even grouping the data under decile headings is not an accurate comparison of ‘like with like.’  We know that all Decile 10 schools are not created equal!

Flawed Data

We know that while the data created by National Standards is useful within our own school, this data is neither National, nor Standard.  The standards are ambiguous and open to interpretation by each school.  As yet, there is no system in place for moderating between schools to ensure consistency of these interpretations, meaning any comparison of schools will be flawed. 

Focus on Final Outputs rather than Progress

There is no ‘Standard’ for 5 year olds entering school, therefore no means to measure the progress of students as they move through the school.  This could unfairly misrepresent a school making significant progress, as underperforming, and a school making minimal progress, as high performing.

International Research

Both PISA and OECD reports show that countries that have introduced League Tables (or used data for high stakes purposes such as comparing schools) as part of nationwide education policy, have gone backwards in performance.  New Zealand educators are concerned that current policies continue to follow and imitate the policies of those countries who are performing below us in international comparisons, rather than looking forward to the few countries that are ahead of us.

Potential to Narrow the Curriculum

There is growing concern that should National Standards gain importance and credibility as a means for measuring school success, the pressure to improve standings in the tables will result in ‘teaching to the test’ and areas of the curriculum other than Literacy and Mathematics will become marginalized.

Potential to reduce opportunities for More Able Students

There is growing concern that should National Standards gain importance and credibility as a means for measuring school success, the pressure to improve standings in the tables will result in more teacher time and resources being focused on target students, resulting in a lack of opportunities for those students who need and deserve enrichment and challenge.

Information related to the Minister's announcement today can be found at:

www.minedu.govt.nz/ReportingNationalStandards 

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Nau Mai, Haere mai, ki te wiki o te Reo Māori!

This week is Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) and children right across the school have an extra focus on ‘things Māori’ as they go about their daily work.  This is a wonderful opportunity to consolidate the Te Reo learning we have already done in classes and to raise the profile of Māori language around the school.  I thought I would take the opportunity to share with you why we we teach Te Reo in our classes:

• There is no other country in the whole world where you can learn to speak this beautiful language!
• What makes us unique and special as kiwis is our unique and indigenous culture.  Regardless of our own heritage, we can all connect with our ‘Kiwiness’ through Te Reo me ōna Tikanga Māori.
• Te Reo Maori is an endangered language - in order for it to thrive, we must all breathe life into it by speaking what we can, when we can.
• In many other developed countries, children can speak 2-3 languages; speaking our indigenous language helps our Tamariki to be leaders and stand confidently on the world stage.
• The Treaty of Waitangi, our founding document, states that all Māori have the right to speak and learn their own language.   The National Education Guidelines ensure that schools meet their obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi.
• Last but not least, IT’S COOL TO KŌRERO!

End of Term 2

We have had an INCREDIBLE final week of term with so many neat things happening...

It started with an amazing Science fair Exhibition.  I was so proud of the students for persevering with their projects and demonstrating such fantastic scientific thinking, congratulations to all those who achieved awards.  We all felt honored to have so many friends and family come to view the Science Fair and share our learning with us.  It was a great night.

The following day was our Electives Showcase.  It was a great opportunity to share the huge range of activities children had been part of throughout the Term.  Big thanks must go to Mrs Evans for all her organisation to make the electives happen.  P.S. we love your dressing gown!

Next, our Year 5 Basketball team played in the finals of the Hutt Valley Basketball league and managed to win by just one goal.  It was a nail biting finish, and our boys played extremely well - what a privilege to be there to see it...

Finally, today we had Cath, Rugga and the two Rugby World Cups come to Maungaraki School.   it was very exciting to see these two beautiful trophys and to have our photos taken with them.  It was a very exciting way to finish the term:

All in all, it's been a fabulous end to the term... I hope everyone has a relaxing break, and look forward to seeing you all in 2 weeks time...

Follow Maungaraki School on Twitter...

I recently heard several principals from Christchurch, sharing their experiences following the earthquakes last year. They spoke about the difficulty of communicating with families when there was little power to run computers or land lines and the most reliable tool was the mobile networks. Schools that had already established Twitter connections with their families found they had a head start in that they were not dependent on power to send or receive emails or use bulk txt features on computers. Twitter proved to be the fastest and most reliable tool for some schools to communicate information with families immediately after and in the days and weeks following the quake.

They have found that since things have returned to 'normal' they have continued using Twitter for all sorts of quick updates and reminders... We would love to get Twitter up and running as a tool to communicate with you. Please register if you haven't already, and follow us:

@maungarakisch

NB: I've tried to embed a fancy "follow me on twitter" button into my blog... to make it easy for you, but technology is not working with me on this one ... Oh well - one step at  time! ... (and if you think you may be able to help me out, please pop in to give me a lesson).

Working Bee - THANK YOU!

It was an amazing effort at the working bee today...  I was astounded by the number of people that turned up, even if only for a n hour or two.  We managed to prove that the adage "many hands makes light work" is indeed true!

I know that Mrs Sutherland and the students in the Enviroteam will be thrilled with what was achieved today and I would like to thank them all for the effort that went into organising and coordinating the day.  It is great to continue to build our school environment into something we are all proud to learn and play in.

Thanks to the home and school group who funded the materials for the pergola, to lay the mosaics, and for compost and bark to tidy up the gardens.

Check out the Enviroteam's blog next week for photos of what was achieved on the day... in the meantime, here's a few that I took...

Class Size Policy Reversal

The Minister has announced that she is reversing the decision to cap the number of teachers in schools and to increase class sizes. It is a major U-turn and the Minister has said the Government decided to drop the policy after parents did not accept the change.

I want to congratulate and thank every one of you who publicly opposed this policy. It is parental response and lobbying that have been critical factors in the Government backing down.

As a profession, we now look forward to working WITH the Minister to improve student achievement and ensure quality teaching is in place across the country.

Budget Announcements...

Last week's budget announcements have provided even more disappointment for those of us in the Education Sector.

One of our local Lower Hutt principals has worked out the maths at a national level and found that  "The increase in student teacher ratios saves $173.930m over 4 years and 'savings will be re-invested in initiatives to improve the quality of teaching'.  Interestingly, only $59.807m of this makes its way to "Improving the quality of teaching" (ie: actually doing this) and this is only a contingency, as they have not given any indication as to how they will actually do that!   I'm not sure what they're doing with the other $115m?!" 

The revelation that the reduction in Year 7/8 staffing ratios INCLUDES specialist teachers, will also mean a significant impact for senior students here at Maungaraki.   I have spoken to Mike Gillatt (principal at Hutt Intermediate) the impact on them is signifcant, meaning that we will either have to hand over some of our staffing (increasing class sizes here at Maungaraki) to continue to receive the technology service or (in a worst case scenario) the service would have to be cut.  Specialist/Technology classes at Year 7/8 have long been a feature of the New Zealand education system that we all value.  We will continue to work closely with Hutt Intermediate to look for solutions to this problem.

~ STOP PRESS ~

Yesterday's NZ Herald suggests that the Govt is rethinking it's approach to staffing Year 7/8 students, with a working party being set up to look into the issue and to manage the change in staffing over the next 4 years.  To my mind, this is just "smoke and mirrors" purely delaying the change with the nett impact remaining the same - Watch this space!

We need your help!

We have applied for an ANZ netball grant that will help us to buy a whole school set of netball skirts, so that we can all be wearing the same skirts.

What we need you to do is sign up at the link below, and sign in and vote for us each day.

You can vote everyday, which will help us get closer to our goal.  Each family member can sign up and can vote once a day. 

Lets go Maungaraki!

To find out more, or to sign up, visit:

https://www.anznetball.co.nz/gransche/gallery-application/application.html?id=16117

Enviroschools Working Bee

Reading Superheroes

At yesterday's assembly, Mrs Evans gave out special awards to some 'Reading Superheroes'... Earlier in the year, Room 5 students all entered a competition with the National Library to describe who their reading superheroes were and why. They wrote and illustrated some amazing work and we were thrilled to have so many winning entries. These heroes all won a special certificate and book vouchers to spend. Congratulations to:

Ben Pilgrim - overall runner up in the junior division!

Flynn Counsell's dad

Miss Matich

Mrs Standish

It is so cool to have real life superheroes in our school... Way to go Room 5!

The full list of winners can be found at: http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/reading-superheroes-competition

Minister Parata's pre budget, 'Class Size' announcement...

I have to say I am flabbergasted by the logic that says to achieve the Ministry's target of raising student achievement, we will need to raise class sizes in Years 2 and 3.  There is no research (and no logic) that implies this will result in an increase in student achievement.  A recent New Zealand Principal's Federation press release outlines some of our concerns (linked here).


So what will this announcement mean for the children of Maungaraki?

The Ministry's class size ratio is purely a funding formula to allocate staffing to schools.  The reality is, that schools then use this staffing allocation to determine the best configuration of class size to suit the needs of the school.  Real class sizes are determined by a whole range of factors including:

• The Ministry's staffing ratio formula;
• Classroom spaces available;
• The number of children in any one year level;
• The choice to run special programmes;
• Our obligation as good employers to provide release time for those with leadership responsibilities.

At Maungaraki School we already have an enrolment scheme (zone) in place, with this zone being rigidly applied.  Some time ago, the Board of Trustees determined that we have no space for out of zone enrolments.  Despite this, the number of in zone enrolments is still increasing and our roll is therefore growing.  We are now close to the maximum capacity of the school.  The Minister's proposed change in staffing ratios could potentially delay our ability to apply for the 12th classroom that we will soon need.  

With only 11 classroom spaces, we are therefore restricted in what we can do to reduce class size, so we use additional staffing (when we have it!) to run special programmes such as:

• Enviroschools
• Art extension
• Band
• Choir
• Kapahaka
• Maungaraki Eye
• Creative Writing Groups
• Drama Groups
• Special needs programmes ...     etc etc 

Our recent strategic consultation process told us that we as a school (and as a community), value these additional opportunities for children.  

While I am hoping that the increase in the class ratio at Year 2/3 will be balanced out by the decrease at Years 4 - 8, early calculations suggest that we are likely to loose a small proportion of our staffing in 2013... We will then need to make a decision as to how to best manage this adjustment.  I can only hope that the impact will be minimal, or that common sense prevails and that the Minister chooses to focus on what is best for children,  rather than what is best for the "Bottom Line."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may also be interested in reading the OECD report on performance pay in education (based on international studies) that was released on the same day as Minister Parata's announcement... (linked here)

Cross Country

After a night of torrential downpours we decided to go ahead with Cross Country with a slightly modified course and organisation.  The children all took these minor changes in their stride (literally!) and showed determination and perseverance in completing the course to the best of their ability... We were all very proud!

Thanks to Miss Perkins for her organisation, all the teachers who helped out, and to the wonderful parents who came along to support our runners.

Netball grading

Spent a stunning day today supporting our netball teams at their second grading round...5 teams, 9 games and some amazing wins. I was impressed by all of the team's skill, focus and sportsmanship. I wish you all the very best of luck in the season ahead - and know that you'll make all of us at Maungaraki School very proud. We also have some amazing parents who have volunteered their time to coach, manage and umpire the teams. Without these volunteers we wouldn't be able to participate... THANK YOU for giving up your time so that our children can enjoy the challenges and sense of belonging that being part of a team brings. Arohanui, Kia Ora!

Lest We Forget

Enjoy your ANZC day everybody, but always remember...It's up to us now...

We will remember them.

More Leadership Camp - Photos

Leadership Camp

What an amazing first day of Leadership Camp.  In true Maungaraki style, the wind forced us to abandon some of our original plans, however Mr Pampalone and the senior students did not let it phase them one bit and the alternative programme was a whole lot of fun.  I especially enjoyed listening to some of the speakers who came to share their views on leadership, and was impressed with the amount of information the children retained and have been demonstrating already:

Peter Dunne - Making Good Decisions Means:

• Taking the blame when things go wrong
• Asking for advise
• Listen to those that know 
• Gather lots of information and think through the outcomes
• Trusting others and relying on them to get things done
• Represent your beliefs-make decisions that fit with your own philosophies.

Ricky Boyd - A musician who toured with Zed... (in a band called Canvas)
You have to create your own job...nobody will hand it to you.
Work hard and practice... You won't remember watching TV all your life, but you will always remember the music you play.
Be authentic ... Be true to yourself... It's easier said than done! Sometimes you have to be a 'character' and it makes it hard to remember to be yourself.
More info on Ricky can be found at   www.thebandschool.co.nz




Max Shierlaw & Amarosa - Hutt City Council
Max believes that:
Everyone CAN be a leader & everyone can LEARN to be a leader.
Doing the right thing earns you trust and respect
Caring for those around you is important in earning respect
Leaders have to help other people- they don't just order people around
Key Leadership Qualities:
The ability to talk to a group and persuade others - we can get better at this  by practicing and by encouraging and supporting each other
Being responsible and leading by example - standing up for what is right and following this with actions that back up what we say
Treat everyone with respect - listen to others views and express different opinions respectfully
Listen and give people praise and encouragement - thank people who make an effort, be sensitive to what people are saying even when you disagree with them, acknowledge people who do good things, listen to complaints and look for compromise.
Have Courage and integrity - do what you say you will do. Sometimes this means taking a risk. If you don't give things a go you will never improve yourself.
Leaders serve others and are humble - you have to show you have the heart to help people, you do it willingly and with a smile.

At the beginning of Max's talk we worked on an Acrostic poem together with Amarosa to think about the meaning of the word Leader - This is what we came up with:
     Laughter, loving, listen, loyal, learner
     Energetic, ears to listen, encouraging, education
     Adventurous, ambitious, appreciative,able to take the blame, adorable, advice
     Determination, debate, decisive, daring
     Enthusiastic, excited, excellent, environmental, entertaining
     Resilient, responsible, reliable, respectful

I think it's pretty good - can't wait for the rest of the evenings activities and tomorrow's speakers.  Watch this space for photos of the camp coming soon!

Meet The Teacher Evening

I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet with parents and 'chew the fat' in a more informal way as part of the Meet the Teacher evening last night.  I drove home reflecting on some of the conversations I had had; the excitement for the new year, the enthusiasm over our 'Enterprise' theme for the year, and the hopes and dreams many hold for their children and their future.  It got me thinking about the Strategic review we have coming up, and the opportunity we all have to confirm or revise the direction our school is heading in, based on what we believe is best for our children.  I'm looking forward to the strategic review process and hope that all families take the opportunity to share their views with us.

Week 1 - Done and Dusted!

It's amazing to think that we have now finished week 1.  After only a few days back it seems like we never went away!  Room 3 shared a "Welcome Back" video at our first assembly today, that captures a few images from the last 3 days...

Children and their teachers have had a fabulous first week... classrooms have been settled and focused and children have left school each day with huge smiles on their faces - Great Stuff!

Honey brought me a brag card today with a neat poem she wrote to sum up what the children in Room 8 have been learning about respect.  I think she is awfully clever!

Brag Card

Today Michael came to me with the first "Brag Card" of the year.  Michael had his first day at school yesterday.  His teacher and I are very impressed that he can write ALL BY HIMSELF:

Tino Pai Rawa Atu Michael - We think you're a superstar!

Happy New Year

Welcome back to the 2012 School Year.  

It is exciting to be back at school for the year.  Teacher's have been very enthusiastic and energetic during our Teacher Only Days with one of our tasks to learn and explore more about how blogs work and how they could contribute to teaching and learning for children at Maungaraki School.

This is my effort!

I hope to use this Blog to share my musings about life at Maungaraki - to celebrate our successes, to recognise the achievements of staff and students and to share some of the exciting events that take place.  I would love you all to join us on our journey...

See you soon!